This illustrated novel by the author of The Name of the Rose tells the story of Yambo, a 60-ish rare book dealer in Milan who has suffered a memory loss. He knows the plot of every book and every line of poetry he has ever read, but he no longer recognizes his wife or his daughters, nor remembers his parents or his childhood, or even his name. Yambo withdraws to his family's home, where he searches through boxes of old newspapers, comics, records, photo albums, and adolescent diaries—reproduced here in color within the text—and rediscovers Mussolini, Catholic guilt, Josephine Baker, Flash Gordon, and Fred Astaire.

"Umberto Eco is always the smartest guy in any room he's in…. And as we accompany Yambo on his trail of self-discovery, we see Umberto Eco, one of the great minds of our era, reveal a little of his heart."—Chicago Sun-Times